Dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA is sometimes referred to as the "mother of all steroid hormones" because it's a precursor for other steroid hormones including both testosterone and estrogen. The fact that DHEA is a precursor for potent steroid hormones such as … [Read more...]
Intermittent Fasting and Hormones by Jerry Brainum 2/23
Intermittent fasting has greatly increased in popularity in recent years. Fasting in various forms has been around for centuries as being integral to certain religious practices. Intermittent fasting or IF is a more recent phenomenon, but not as recent as you might expect. As … [Read more...]
Crazy From HCG? by Jerry Brainum 1/23
Human Chorionic Gonadotropin or HCG is one of the first hormones produced during pregnancy. Indeed, most home early pregnancy tests work to detect the presence of HCG, and if none is detected, no pregnancy is assumed. HCG is produced in the human body in the placenta … [Read more...]
Nutrition and Thyroid Function by Jerry Brainum 6/22
Most people are aware that the thyroid gland through the production of two primary hormones is the master controller of resting metabolism. But the thyroid gland does more than that. It also regulates body temperature, heart rate, and of special interest to bodybuilders, is … [Read more...]
Calorie Restriction and Anabolic Resistence by Jerry Brainum 7/20
Anabolic Resistance is a term pertaining to the inability to boost either muscle mass or muscle protein synthesis. It's problematic because the failure to efficiently utilize amino acids in muscle, which is a hallmark of anabolic resistance (AR) can lead to muscle … [Read more...]
Dietary Fat and Testosterone by Jerry Brainum 4/20
 Natural bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, meaning those who want to attain a greater degree of muscular size and strength, but don't want to use any type of anabolic drugs to accomplish those goals, are always seeking ways to boost testosterone levels naturally. … [Read more...]
A Guide To Maintaining Muscle Mass After 40 by Jerry Brainum
Nothing is more frustrating than losing muscle mass with age to a person who has been active their entire lives. It would seem that the loss of lean mass with age is an inevitable consequence of the aging process, but this is only partially true. The fact is that you cannot … [Read more...]
Busting the Myths about Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) by Jerry Brainum
I've covered Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator drugs (SARMs) in a past issue of Applied Metabolics. However, that article focused on the availability of SARMs online and the fact that analysis of SARMs drugs purchased online showed that, similarly to black market anabolic … [Read more...]
Insulin, Carbohydrates, and body fat: An Update by Jerry Brainum
What was Gary Taubes thinking? Taubes, an esteemed science writer and staunch advocate of low carbohydrate diets, felt that ingestion of excess carbohydrates, especially processed carbs, such as carbs minus the fiber content, was the primary cause of the … [Read more...]
Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) without Testosterone by Jerry Brainum
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) remains controversial, despite its increasing popularity among men. Several issues are involved in this controversy about the hormone. For one, many physicians feel that the decline of testosterone levels in men that starts at about age … [Read more...]